Ashland, OR

Ashland is home to a growing, in both quality, and size, indepenent film festival.

The Ashland Independent Film Festival received a grant this year from the Acadamy of Motion Pictures (you know, the Oscars) to help bring talent to Ashland.

The seventh annual ashland independent film festival will be held April 3-7, 2008. Consistently each year, 90+% of the seats at the ashland independent film festival are filled for all five days. 2/3 of the shows sell out to engaged, arts-oriented audiences. Last April 6,000 film-goers purchased over 15,000 tickets to 92 feature, documentary and short films.

The festival takes place on the five screens of the intimate art-deco Varsity Theatre and at the Historic Ashland Armory - within a few blocks of each other in historic downtown Ashland, Oregon. See our archives for past film selections and special guests.

I have volunteered for several years to help this fine event take place. One of the many things that makes Living in Ashland Great!!!!

A new artistic director starts this year, and the line-up is....

Angus Bowmer Theatre

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  A Midsummer Night's Dream

  Feb. 15 - Nov. 2

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  Fences

  Feb. 16 - Jul. 6

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  The Clay Cart

  Feb. 17 - Nov. 2

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  The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler

  Apr. 15 - Nov. 1

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  A View from the Bridge

  Jul. 23 - Nov. 1

New Theatre

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  Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter

  Feb. 19 - Jun. 20

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  Coriolanus

  Mar. 26 - Nov. 2

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  Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

  Jul. 1 - Nov. 2

Elizabethan Stage

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  Othello

  Jun. 3 - Oct. 10

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  Our Town

  Jun. 4 - Oct. 11

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  The Comedy of Errors

  Jun. 5 - Oct. 12

Property Tax in Oregon does not increase because of a sale on a property.

Ballot Measure 47 was a 1996 initiative in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was approved, increasing the Oregon Constitution's limitations on property taxes on real estate, first imposed by Measure 5.

Measure 47 required that property taxes be no higher than 10% less than those imposed in the 1994-1995 tax year, or those imposed in the 1995-1996 tax year. Thereafter, property taxes increases were to be capped at 3% per year.

Property Tax

The amount of property tax levied in Ashland is one of the lowest tax levy amounts of any major city in Jackson County. Ashland's electric utility users tax helps keep property taxes low.

Ashland's fixed tax rate is $3.9747 /$1,000 ($1.7069 goes to the general fund, $0.1750 goes to the debt service fund, and $2.0928 goes to the Parks Department).

Ashland's fixed levy rate is $1.38/$1,000. This is the Youth Activities Levy, which supports the school district and was voter approved. This levy is in effect for three years.

Ashland's bonded debt is $0.2086/$1,000. This includes the Fire Station and flood restoration bonds which were voter approved and the 2005 refinancing of GO bonds.

Property taxes in Oregon can increase in one of two ways: An increase in the assessed value of taxable property, (limited to 3% per year) and/or a levy on the ballot that voter's approve.

Of the property taxes Ashland residents pay, 43% of the total goes to the City of Ashland, 16% goes to Jackson County and 41% goes to education, which includes Ashland School District and Jackson County Educational Services District.

For further explanation in plain English, please contact me.

AgentInAKilt.com

Like Greg and Valri Williams' dream development Verde Village in Ashland, a 62 unit project mix consisting of cottages, single-family homes and 15 affordable housing units that will all be Net-Zero Energy Homes (homes that combine energy-efficient construction, equipment, lighting and appliances with commercially available renewable energy systems to provide homeowners with annual net-zero energy consumption), Southern Oregon Builders are on board the Green Building train which is picking up steam on a journey toward rapidly expanding the number of Energy Star, Earth Advantage, L.E.E.D. certified homes, emphasizing clean air, clean water, with limited impact on landscape in the Rogue Valley. From Shady Cove, to Jacksonville, to the Applegate, to Talent, on to Ashland, with many other Jackson County cities in between, more and more homeowners are turning toward building and remodeling their homes to meet these standards.

The City of Ashland is very committed to green building practices. The Ashland Conservation Division, established more than 20 years ago, is responsible for operating water, recycling, air quality and energy conservation programs. This division works with the Ashland School District, Southern Oregon University, and Ashland businesses and homeowners to increase the efficiency of their resource usage by offering energy and water expertise, as well as programs and guidance to Ashland residents. Zero interest loans or cash incentives are available to both private and business sectors, which many Ashland home and business owners have been using to help fun the additional expense associated with funding improvements to increase their efficient use of electric energy in both new construction and weatherization of existing homes and businesses. Solar water heating incentives, including tax credits, are available through the Oregon Department of Energy.

Need Southern Oregon Architects dedicated to designing energy efficient, sustainable homes? Look up Jason Zook at Ogden Roemer Wilkerson Architecture (541)779-5237, who is on the Rogue Valley Branch of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, or Carlos Delgado of Ashland at (541)552-9502 who built a beautiful home that Superior Windows & Doors of Ashland provided the energy-efficient windows and doors for.

For new construction of Net Zero or other Green levels for homes, Eric Artner Construction is a name we know and trust. The quality and experience Eric Artner brings to a job is what a homeowner will want for their dream home. Look for Eric Artner Construction's subdivision Pacific Stage Heights, a 143-unit all Green village to be built in Talent, Oregon.

D.A. Boldt Construction offers both residential and commercial new construction and remodeling. Their historic renovations can be seen all throughout the Rogue Valley. In addition, there are several smaller builders, contractors and developers who focus is also on building quality projects. If you would like more contacts, just contact me at (541)608-6003 or e-mail me at Karen@Quality4Loans.com.

Earth Advantage has an ambitious plan to increase the percentage of homes in the Rogue Valley that meet their standards to 10-12% over the next four years. Although many builders have expressed concern about the added costs associated with building to these specifications, many seem to have greater concerns about the amount of paperwork involved to get their projects certified, as the energy savings and incentives available help offset a large part of these costs. Even Affordable Housing Developers in the Rogue Valley are building homes to Earth Advantagestandards, at only an added cost of roughly $2,000. For questions you may have on projects you plan to build to Earth Advantage standards, contact Fred Gant at (541)840-8302 or fgant@earthadvantage.org.

The local branch of the U.S. Green Building Council is growing, and Jackson County Home Builders Association has established a Green Building committee. This Green Train is steaming along! As of now, true Energy Efficient Mortgages giving preferred rates to homeowners who are building green are not yet available, but Quality Home Loans wishes to support our Green Building homeowners doing the right thing by building their energy-efficient, sustainable homes and receiving Earth Advantage and/or L.E.E.D. certifications. Go to http://www.quality4loans.com/ for more information on this program, or other construction, remodel and purchase loans for your California and Southern Oregon projects.

See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - http://www.quality4loans.com/

Although Southern Oregon has a wealth of natural beauty to share with us, one of her special places is Lithia Park. This was one of the first places my family and I discovered upon moving here in June 2004, as we attended the City of Ashland's 4th of July Parade, enjoying the many different food, art and craft booths lining the entrance drive to the Park on this special day. We enjoy this park so much, every person who comes to visit us is brought here to experience the glory this National Historic Reserve has to offer, strolling through the many paths picking Mulberries and Blackberries, putting their feet in Ashland Creek, laying on the grass deciphering cloud formations, feeding the ducks, viewing the incredible landscape and wildlife that present themselves.

In the heart of downtown sits Lithia Park, Ashland's crown jewel. Lithia Park started as an 8-acre gathering spot, growing to what is now a 93-acre gem that has gorgeous lawns good for picnics, tennis courts, a sand-pit volleyball court, fabulous landscaping and playground equipment including some of the best swings in Southern Oregon. The park follows Ashland Creek through undeveloped woodlands, and includes a Japanese garden, two duck ponds, a formal rose garden, groves of sycamore trees and a number of secluded spots great for enjoying a good book or a romantic snuggle.

Lithia Park's History

Ashland started out in the 1800's with a water-powered sawmill and a flour mill which stood on the banks of Ashland Creek. This mill occupied what is now the entrance to Lithia Park. The plaza at the entrance was a popular gathering spot for early settlers. These early settlers had ties to Ashland County, Ohio and Ashland, Kentucky, hence the town's name, which became official in 1855 when the Ashland Mills Post Office opened.

From 1859 to 1900, the city grew from 50 to 3,000 people, growing faster than any town South of Portland, and was the largest in Jackson County. Hotels, schools, churches and mills sprang up throughout the 1870's and 1880's. Natural spring water, discovered a few miles east of Ashland, was being piped into town and bubbled out of the three new fountains in the park. This water has a high concentration of lithium and is said to have been used by the Native Americans to care for the sick and the elderly.

The Chautauqua Association brought entertainment to Southern Oregon in 1892, building a domed building for their shows whose walls now surround the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Elizabethan Theater. Visitors came from miles around in the summers to participate in various attractions offered, camping in what has since become Lithia Park. In 1935, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival began with a three-day summer festival of Shakespearean plays under founding director Angus Bowmer.

Today, 42 of Lithia Park's 93 acres are listed in the National Historic Register. Visitors approaching Lithia Park may first see the towering Tree of Heaven at the Plaza entrance, which according to legend was planted in the 19th century by Abel Helman's Chinese cook. In 1908 with the urging of the Women's Civic Improvement Club, the people of Ashland passed a measure to include park maintenance in the City Charter.

In 1909 the old flour mill was torn down, a park board was elected, and additional acres bordering Ashland Creek were acquired. By 1910 the lower duck pond and waterfall that feeds it were constructed, while Bert Greer, an ambitious newspaper editor conceived the idea of making Ashland a world-famous spa capitalizing on the Lithia Springs of the area. The development of today's park began in 1914 with the hiring of John McLaren as the landscape architect. John McLaren also designed San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Lithia Park embodies the distinctive characteristics of park design in the tradition of Frederick Law Olmsted. McLaren's landscape plan for Lithia Park was organic in layout, following the natural canyon of the water course. The plantings were naturalistic to the extent that native alders, oaks, conifers and madrones were incorporated, but other plants, such as willows, maples, sycamores, and numerous ornamental varieties were introduced and selected for hardiness, form and color.

Lithia Park is located at 59 Winburn Way and is open to the public. Trail guides and other booklets about the park can be obtained from the park office of Ashland Parks and Rec. Dept., open Monday-Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm, and free performances are frequently offered at the Butler Band Shell. For performance schedules and further information call 541-488-5340 or visit the Ashland City Band's website. The Ashland Chamber of Commerce offers nature walks Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00am; call 541-482-3486 to confirm tours.